Win back your customers’ heart

Posted on March 29, 2013 by pimexicoadmin

Love and business are often similar. Time and again you find yourself wanting to get back together after a breakup but don’t really know where to start and what to do different this time. Here are 8 tips to win back your customer’s heart:

Find out what’s wrong. Start the dialog. Prove your willingness to sit down and listen before your speak. Don’t assume anything.
Get to the bottom of the problem. “It’s not me, it’s YOU.” Figure out the real cause of the problem, and once you do, find out if your customer agrees with it. They may see things differently.
“I just want you to be happy”. Refer new business to your ex-customers. Show them you have their best interest at heart even if they aren’t your customers anymore. Be honest with it and you might start a new business relationship.
Calibrate your verbal and body language. During a conflict it is easy to lose focus; being patient will not only clear your mind but also calm you customer. You will both be able to solve the issue.
Offer a plan of action. Now that you have listened and clearly understand the core problem, offer a specific strategy to solve it. What do you promise to do? How will you change? What do you expect?
Sweeten the deal with an incentive. A box of chocolates and flowers really help. Remember how emotions might have been vented before? You can now reestablish an emotional connection with your customer by adding an incentive: a free sample, a gift certificate. Get creative, it’s the little details that matter.
Show your interest but don’t be needy. You might need to fight your way back but once your customers see your honest intentions and perseverance, they will get over their initial anger and fear of rejection. Be ready to compromise, you already know what they want.
Nurture the relationship. Let your customers know how much it means to have them back. Schedule follow up dates, phone calls or e-mails and keep in touch with them. Remember what made them unhappy and avoid the same mistakes.

Source: All Business

5 terms you must know before you print

Posted on March 22, 2013 by pimexicoadmin

When ordering a custom printing job, there are certain terms you must first know to get exactly what you want.

Stock. Paper or other material to be printed. It can be divided into body (the stock where the main text is to be printed) and cover stock (a generally thicker material used for posters, menus, folders and covers of paperback books).
Paper brand. Get to know the brand of paper that fits your needs but bear in mind that we recommend you to seek paper quality first and brand name second http://printinmexico.com/blog/5-tips-to-save-money-with-business-printing-companies/. Your print provider may offer you a bulk price if you ask for a specific brand.
Weight. The weight difference between a single sheet of two types of paper may be imperceptible. But is it the same with an 2000 page book? In the US and Canada, basis weight (also called substance weight) refers to the actual weight in pounds of 1000 sheets of any given size of paper. In other countries with ISO paper sizes, basis weight (also called grammage) means the weight in grams of a square meter of paper. Ream weight is used to express the weight in pounds of 500 sheets of paper cut to the basic size. *NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH FONT WEIGHT. Font or type weight is the comparative amount of blackness of a type style. Light, semi, bold or ultra bold typefaces have different weight between them.
Opacity. The property of both paper andk ink to prevent printing on one side of the sheet from showing through to the other. Do you want almost see-through paper or a high-opacity paper for your print material?
Caliper. The thickness of paper in thousandths of an inch (also called mils or points), pages per inch (ppi) thousandths of a millimeter (microns), or pages per centimeter (ppc).

These are just the basics but they sure will come in handy the next time your company needs you to send something to the printer.

Approved Index http://www.approvedindex.co.uk/a/printingcompanies/printingterms/
How http://www.howdesign.com/graphic-design-basics/printing-terms/
Printing Industry Exchange http://www.printindustry.com/Glossary.aspx

Newspapers survive by shifting to compact, specialized formats

Posted on March 15, 2013 by pimexicoadmin

Newspaper printing has seen a downfall as more and more users turn to their electronic devices to read the news. Many print publications have switched to web-only content.

But a relatively new printing technology called three-around printing lets newspaper press cylinders to print three broadsheet pages per revolution instead of two, and a third shorter in size. This change will result in more compact issues with more sections that take less time to produce.

In a digital age why would we still want print publications despite these improvements?

Sample groups for the Columbus Dispatch, a newspaper that has embraced three-around printing, has shown that readers reflected an overwhelmingly positive regard for the changes in format. Besides, a compact newspaper is easier to handle.\

In addition, the new format allows the publication of more segmented material focusing on specialized topics like real estate, arts or the concerns of specific markets.

Furthermore, as we have mentioned, people are seeking for ‘more real’ experiences. This means that when looking for content, our brain has a predilection for media that stimulates the most number of senses, print media, for example.

Print newspapers are not dead, they are just evolving.

Sources: New Zealand Herald | Printing Industry Exchange | International Business Times

The Mexican dream: low costs, high quality

Posted on March 8, 2013 by pimexicoadmin

Nissan’s manufacturing plant in Aguascalientes. (Image: AutoField Guide).

‘Cheap’ often means compromised quality. It also used to mean manufacturing in Southeast Asia.

But there’s a new array of opportunities emerging right in the USA’s backyard, with Mexico as a thriving economy, predicted to enter the top 10 world economies in the next decade and to reach the 8th place by 2050.

Mexico’s annual exports of manufactured goods comprise about the same value as the rest of Latin America put together. Mexican universities produce produces each year more engineers than Germany, resulting in a more specialized workforce. In 1994 the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) opened Mexico to the world by eliminating most tariffs with the United States and Canada. It now has more free trade deals than any other nation, with 44 countries.

Also, Asian wages are rising. The average manufacturing wage in Mexico per hour rose only from $1.50 in 2000 to $2.10 USD in 2011 while China’s grew from $0.30 to $1.60. Transport costs are far more competitive for companies that manufacture in Mexico, and shipping times are considerably lower: a container can take three months to travel from China to the US, against two days from Mexico.

AlixPartners said in 2011:

The joint effect of pay, logistics and currency fluctuations had made Mexico the world’s cheapest place to manufacture goods destined for the United States, undercutting China as well as countries such as India and Vietnam.

Nissan has a village-sized factory in Cuernavaca, near Mexico City, where New York Citiy’s thousands of taxis will be manufactured. Mazda and Audi are also building factories. But cars are not the only manufactured goods in Mexico; medical and electronic industries are also posted in Tijuana, just across the border from San Diego, California.

Nowadays it is more attractive and cost-effective to manufacture close to markets. Mexico has realized the dream of low costs and high quality.

Sources: The Economist | Business 360